1. Field of Invention
This invention is in the general field of casino gaming and, more particularly, relates to the game of Black Jack.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Black Jack is the most widely played card game in casinos. The game utilizes a table with a semi-circular top that has a green felt covering which carries images of seven player stations spaced along the table top's arcuate edge. A dealer is usually seated adjacent to the straight edge of the table top.
As many as seven players or as few as one player may play at the table adjacent to a player station. Accordingly, each player has an exclusive access to one of the stations.
The game is played with six to eight standard decks of cards. Each card has a point value. An ace has a point value of either 1 or 11. Kings, queens and jacks have a point value of 10. All other cards have a point value equal to their nominal value. The cards are shuffled together and dealt from a shoe by the dealer.
Each station includes an image of a circle. Before any cards are dealt, each player makes a wager by placing cheques representative of the wager within the circle at the player's station. After the wagers are made, the dealer deals a first card face up to each of the players and to himself. The dealer then deals a second card face up to each of the players and a second card face down to himself whereby each of the players and the dealer have a hand comprised of two cards. The dealer's second card is usually referred to as a hole card.
A point value of a hand is the sum of the point values of cards comprising the hand. It should be understood that the player's object is to acquire a hand whose point value is as close to 21 as possible, without exceeding 21. When the point value of the player's hand exceeds 21, the player loses his wager.
When the dealer's first card has a point value of 10 or is an ace, the dealer must look at the hole card. When sum of the point values of the dealer's first card and hole card is 21 (referred to as a natural), he announces the words, "Twenty-one" or "Black Jack". When a player has a natural he makes a similar announcement.
When the dealer and the player both have naturals, there is no payout; the player retrieves the wager. When the dealer has a natural and the player does not have a natural, the dealer collects the wager. When the dealer does not have a natural and the player has a natural, the player usually receives a 3 to 2 payout on the wager.
When the dealer's hand is not a natural and a player's hand has a point value of less than 21, the player may elect to have his hand augmented by one or more additional cards. Thereafter, a player who has a hand with a point value of 21 or less is referred to as a surviving player.
After the player's have made their election, the dealer exposes his hole card. When the dealer's hand has a point value of 16 or less, the dealer must continue to augment his hand with additional cards until the point value of the dealer's hand is greater than 16. When the dealer's final hand has a point value greater than 21, the dealer is said to have busted and makes a one to one payout on the wager of each of the surviving players.
The dealer may not augment his hand when it has a point value greater than 16. In other words, when the dealer's hand has a point value in a range of 17 to 21, it is the dealer's final hand.
Each of the surviving players win a one to one payout on their wager when they have a hand with a point value greater than the point value of the final hand. Conversely, each of the surviving players lose their wager when they have a hand with a point value less than the point value of the final hand. A surviving player recovers his wager when he has a hand with a point value equal to the point value of the final hand.
One frustrating aspect of play that a player must endure is having a hand comprised of two cards with a point value of 20 and losing because the dealer has a natural.